Ethiopia, Tigre Rebels Start Peace Talks in Rome

Ethiopia’s Marxist government and rebels from the northern province of Tigre began peace talks in Rome on Saturday after a long delay arguing over whom the rebels represent.

Delegations representing Ethiopia’s Soviet-backed government and the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) drove into the Villa Madama, a secluded government guest house on a wooded hill in the suburbs Saturday morning.

But it was another nine hours before they met to start talks.

Diplomatic sources said the delay was caused by Ethiopian government objections to a TPLF claim that it was also representing an allied rebel movement at the Rome talks.

The TPLF had said Friday that it would also negotiate on behalf of the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM).

The Ethiopian government delegation said in a statement that the TPLF is a tribalist organization that threatens to tear Ethiopia apart.

The TPLF said it wants a lasting and just peace.

The Ethiopian government delegation is led by Ashagre Yigletu, the secretary for external relations of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Ethiopia.

Ashagre also led a delegation that opened peace talks in September with another rebel movement, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), in Atlanta, Ga.

The TPLF team at the Rome talks is headed by the rebel movement’s chairman, Meles Zenawi.

The peace talks opened against a background of heavy fighting between rebels and government forces in northern Ethiopia.